Nanocrystal quantum dots of the I-III-VI CuInSexS2-x (CISeS) alloy system are of growing interest for applications in optoelectronic devices such as solar photovoltaics (PVs, Stolle, C. J.; Harvey, T. B.; Korgel, B. A. Curr. Opin. Chem. Eng. 2013, 2, 160) and light-emitting diodes (Tan, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Xie, C.; Su, H.; Liu, J.; Zhang, C.; Dellas, N.; Mohney, S. E.; Wang, Y.; Wang, J.; Xu, J. Advanced Materials 2011, 23, 3553). These quantum dots exhibit strong optical absorption and efficient photoluminescence that can be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared (near-IR, Zhong, H.; Bai, Z.; Zou, B. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 3167) through composition and quantum size effects. Long exciton lifetimes (Zhang, W.; Zhong, X. Inorganic Chemistry 2011, 50, 4065) that can facilitate charge separation, and facile solution processibility, render CISeS quantum dots promising for a range of different low-cost solar PV architectures, including sensitized titania solar cells of the type pioneered by Michael Grätzel and Brian O'Regan (O'Regan, B.; Gratzel, M. Nature 1991, 353, 737) that are commonly referred to as “Grätzel cells.” In fact, Grätzel cells sensitized by specifically engineered CISeS quantum dots have recently been shown to offer excellent stability and certified power conversion efficiencies of >5%. (McDaniel, H.; Fuke, N.; Makarov, N. S.; Pietryga, J. M.; Klimov, V. I. Nat. Commun. 2013, 4, 2887.) Even higher efficiencies should be achievable by increasing the absorptivity of these cells in the near-IR spectral region by using quantum dots with narrower band gaps. Narrower band gaps are also attractive for medical imaging because biological tissues are more transparent in the near-IR. However, the quantum dots typically used contain toxic heavy metals such as cadmium or lead that are banned in some parts of the world. Furthermore, the synthesis of quantum dots usually requires toxic and air-sensitive phosphines (e.g., trioctylphosphine) to form the chalcogenide precursor which is added by injection at a high temperature.